The present embodiments relate to a body coil including one or more coil elements incorporated in a shell material.
Body coils (e.g., surface coils) are used within the context of magnetic resonance imaging to be able to optimally measure certain regions of the body. To attain a high signal intensity and therewith a high image quality, the body coil may be shaped to the body contour of the patient. For a spinal column coil (e.g., a spine coil), for example, lateral shaping to the patient is desired to increase the image quality in the region of the spine. Known spinal column coils may have a flat construction. The coil is positioned in the examination table so as to be recessed. For this purpose, the examination table has a corresponding upper-side recess, into which the coil is placed. The coil surface, on which the patient is placed, is configured so as to be slightly bent. The middle region is located about 1.5 cm lower than the edge region. Easy shaping to the back contour of the patient is achieved hereby, and the lying comfort is increased. In the case of slim patients who do not require the entire width of the spine coil, the lateral shaping has little effect since the edge regions are ultimately not positioned close to the body. To obtain, for the examination table, a flat surface that is provided, for example, to pull the patient, in the case of unconsciousness, from a stretcher and gurney sideways onto the examination table, the coil-side three-dimensional geometry is such that the body coil does not exceed the upper level of the couch at the side. Otherwise, the coil edge would constitute an obstacle, over which the immobile patient may not be pulled or may only be pulled with difficulty.